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Summer Visit - 2013 - SHIPs

The summer visit to Caltech is 3-4 days long and is the only time during the year of work when all the participants on the team come together in person to work intensively on the data. Generally, each educator may bring up to two students to the summer visit that are paid for by NITARP, and they may raise funds to bring two more. The teams work at Caltech; the summer visit typically includes a half-day tour of JPL, which is a favorite site for group photos. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

The SHIPs team came to visit in June 2013. The core team educators attended, plus 9 students.

Quotes

  • [student:] It wasn't necessarily as surprising as it was relieving to find out that everyone was generally in the same boat as far as knowledge went. I was a bit nervous to go on the trip because Python and photometry were very new to me. But after discovering that it was new to everyone, it became a collaborative effort that I really enjoyed, and it never seemed like a competition.
  • [student:] The best aspect of the trip was working with such a group of amazing people. The opportunity I had to work with real members of the scientific community was priceless. I firmly believe that this experience has changed my life and provided me with an experience I will never forget.
  • [student:] I loved learning how to use python, APT, and ds9. It really opened my eyes to a whole new field of science.
  • [student:] it was not at all surprising how serious and professional the program was/is. I had no idea what to expect on this trip, but I was not surprised by how hard everybody worked. The level of concentration and professionalism from each participant really made the trip a success for me[..]
  • [student:] The fact that neither the teachers nor the researchers knew all the "answers" to the research we were doing was surprising. Unlike school where the teacher generally knew the answer, the research we participated in this past week was totally new to everyone, including the teachers. That type of situation was a great experience and will prepare me for future experiences in the work world. [Our mentor scientist] said "You don't always have to know the answer; just how to find it." During the trip we were taught how to find answers by analyzing data and using prior knowledge instead of simply memorizing facts and formulas.

Related Teams

Summer Visit - 2013 - SHIPs